GaDisneyDad
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2002
- Messages
- 76
Cast:
Norm (me) (39); husband, father, trip planner, scribe and photographer
Robin (39); wife and mother with veto power over trip plans, wants a more relaxed Disney trip this time (Ha!)
Kent (14); teenage son, not interested if its not fast, loud, or scary (preferably all three)
Whitney (13); teenage daughter, into thrill rides like her brother, but will do the others with less complaining (usually)
Setting:
7 days at Port Orleans Riverside, plus 1 offsite at Islands of Adventure (sons favorite, of course). This is our second straight year at POR, and third WDW trip in four years. Due to finding a discounted resort rate back in January, we decide to stay longer than our usual 4 or 5 days to have more time to stop and smell the roses.
Scene 1 Friday, June 14 - Were off!
Even though our vacation doesnt officially begin until we pull out of the driveway this afternoon, I took the day off to finish packing. My daughter doesnt get back from middle school church camp until sometime after 2:00, so we need to be loaded up and ready to go when her bus pulls in. I cant wait to head out, so of course theyre late. Its around 4:00 before we finally set out, and if you know anything about Atlanta traffic, Friday afternoon is no time to be in town on the freeway especially if its raining, which it is now.
Two hours later were 60 miles away, finally south of the city, out of the rain, in thinning traffic, and starting to make up some ground. Our goal for the night is to make it to Gainesville, to give us a short trip in to Orlando Saturday morning. With our delay getting out of town, it looks like we wont be getting in until after midnight until I discover I misjudged the mileage by 40 miles (to the good side). We pull in to our $44/ night Fairfield Inn room at 11:45.
One word to those who may be driving in Florida has finally changed their Interstate exit numbers to conform to the way the rest of the country does them, i.e., exit number = mile marker vs. the old exit numbers are assigned sequentially, 1 to whatever. The good news is this makes it easier now to tell how far away you are from your destination, but if you have older trip directions that reference certain exit numbers, make sure you pay attention to where you are or you could miss your exit. If you look closely, the new exit signs still mention the old exit numbers, but theyre in small print, off to the side.
Day one:
The best Gainesville 40 miles closer than I thought.
The worst rain and Atlanta traffic.
Norm (me) (39); husband, father, trip planner, scribe and photographer
Robin (39); wife and mother with veto power over trip plans, wants a more relaxed Disney trip this time (Ha!)
Kent (14); teenage son, not interested if its not fast, loud, or scary (preferably all three)
Whitney (13); teenage daughter, into thrill rides like her brother, but will do the others with less complaining (usually)
Setting:
7 days at Port Orleans Riverside, plus 1 offsite at Islands of Adventure (sons favorite, of course). This is our second straight year at POR, and third WDW trip in four years. Due to finding a discounted resort rate back in January, we decide to stay longer than our usual 4 or 5 days to have more time to stop and smell the roses.
Scene 1 Friday, June 14 - Were off!
Even though our vacation doesnt officially begin until we pull out of the driveway this afternoon, I took the day off to finish packing. My daughter doesnt get back from middle school church camp until sometime after 2:00, so we need to be loaded up and ready to go when her bus pulls in. I cant wait to head out, so of course theyre late. Its around 4:00 before we finally set out, and if you know anything about Atlanta traffic, Friday afternoon is no time to be in town on the freeway especially if its raining, which it is now.
Two hours later were 60 miles away, finally south of the city, out of the rain, in thinning traffic, and starting to make up some ground. Our goal for the night is to make it to Gainesville, to give us a short trip in to Orlando Saturday morning. With our delay getting out of town, it looks like we wont be getting in until after midnight until I discover I misjudged the mileage by 40 miles (to the good side). We pull in to our $44/ night Fairfield Inn room at 11:45.
One word to those who may be driving in Florida has finally changed their Interstate exit numbers to conform to the way the rest of the country does them, i.e., exit number = mile marker vs. the old exit numbers are assigned sequentially, 1 to whatever. The good news is this makes it easier now to tell how far away you are from your destination, but if you have older trip directions that reference certain exit numbers, make sure you pay attention to where you are or you could miss your exit. If you look closely, the new exit signs still mention the old exit numbers, but theyre in small print, off to the side.
Day one:
The best Gainesville 40 miles closer than I thought.
The worst rain and Atlanta traffic.
